Silent Voices
by King-Mac-11
Summary: Jaune's been acting weird lately. However, he hasn't exactly spoken to anyone about something being wrong. His friends are worrying, but what could he tell them? How could he make sense of it all? How can he explain that a voice had found a way into his mind?
1. Chapter 1

Combat training. A class Jaune never actually enjoyed. Considering how often he ended up getting beat, to him, it became Humiliation 101. Safe to say, when he was called to the sparring circle, he was anything but ecstatic. As for his opponent…

"Now then Mr. Arc," Professor Goodwitch was picking out the student that was going to put him flat across his back in defeat. "Your opponent shall be… Ms. Schnee."

Jaune was silent but his mind was in overdrive. _Seriously?! Why?! Why do I have to fight Weiss? Sure, if I fought Yang or Ruby I'd easily be put into the hospital. Blake might at least go easy on him. But Weiss?! That's the worst possible option. At least with the others the match would be quick. This is going to hurt…_

When the heiress reached the stage, she was ready for battle. Jaune was not. When their observer shouted "Begin!" Jaune was struck in his left shoulder by Weiss' rapier and sent backward a few feet. He was just able to catch himself and land without taking any more damage. That single attack was more than enough to put his aura levels in the yellow. If he took another attack like that, the match would be over. Something in Jaune's mind told him she wasn't going to be that merciful, though. While had stopped asking her out, she never really like him, anyway. Weiss readied her weapon again and flew forward, striking Jaune in the other shoulder.

…or she would have, if not for a quick dodge on Jaune's part. He was able to strike Weiss, instead, with a quick counterstrike. It was hardly powerful, though, and a follow up attack from the heiress sent Jaune backward again. His aura was one attack away from dipping into the red. Weiss was ready to end the match with a dust attack from her weapon. A multitude of ice shots flew from her weapon, straight for Jaune. Jaune was panicking. How can he dodge all those attacks? How can he get away?

 ** _Don't move._**

 _What?_ Despite not knowing what just happened, he heeded the strange voice and didn't move. Apparently, Weiss had bet on him trying to move and missed because he didn't try to dodge. The heiress charged forward again to ensure she didn't miss again.

 ** _Dodge left and bash._**

Jaune did so. A quick step to the left saved him from the hit and one shield bash allowed him some distance from Weiss.

 ** _Strike to the top of her shoulder and flurry._**

Jaune charged forward this time and swung his sword downward, aiming for her shoulder. Weiss tried to dodge to the side. However, because Jaune had aimed for her shoulder, Jaune struck her hand and forced her to drop her weapon. Jaune then let loose a flurry of attacks witling down her aura. With one last strike, he knocked the heiress down and held his sword out toward her neck. He won.

Despite this, the look on his face was not one of triumph or joy. It was fear. Everyone watching the match was confused. Yang raised an eyebrow. "He won. Why is he scared?"

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe he thinks Weiss will be mad."

They didn't know because they didn't hear it. Only Jaune could hear it.

 ** _Kill her._**


	2. Chapter 2

Jaune sat on the roof where he would spar with Phyrra. He had been trying to avoid as many people as possible. When a voice in your head told you to kill one of your friends, you don't want to go near anyone for a while. He wanted to figure out what was happening. He wanted answers. Before he knew it, his scroll was in hand and he had dialed a familiar number.

"Hello. Arc family." The voice on the other end of the line was deep, powerful, perhaps a bit intimidating. But to Jaune, it was comforting.

"Hi, dad."

"Jaune? It's good to finally hear from you. Seriously, you get into Beacon then you stop calling home. Actions like that make your mother worry you know?"

"Dad. I need to ask you something."

Jaune's father laughed a bit. "Now, Jaune, I'm fairly certain we've already had the talk. But a reminder over the phone?"

"No, dad. This is serious."

"Sorry. What's up?"

Lately, I've been hearing a voice in my head."

Jaune's father was silent.

"So… do I have Schizophrenia, or something?"

"No, Jaune. What you are experiencing isn't schizophrenia. It's something a bit more… hereditary."

"What do you mean?"

"Jaune, do you remember the stories about your great great-grandfather?"

"Yeah."

"Well… there's one story you don't know. You see, your great great-grandfather, according to his journal, also heard a voice. He described it as 'his voice, but with a tone of his emotional opposite.' He said it was 'prideful and un-honorable.'"

Jaune knew his great great-grandfather was always described as humble and honorable. He was the picture of the ideal knight. Jaune wanted to be just like him. This, though, did open more than a few questions.

Jaune's father continued, "He documented that his son heard a voice with a similar effect. Then his grandson, and so on."

Jaune interrupted. "Wait, do you hear a voice like that?"

"Not for a long time. According to your great great-grandfather, once the Arc makes peace with the voice, it goes away. In the process, it makes the Arc stronger. All you have to do is make peace with it."

"Dad, it tried to get me to kill one of my friends."

"Oh… Never said it would be easy." A loud crash could be heard. "Crap. Sorry Jaune, I have to go for now. Good luck." With a click, the call ended.

Jaune sat there a moment. A voice in his head that was his emotional opposite… _That explains the murder attempt._

 ** _It explains a lot more than that, Jaune._**

 ****Jaune nearly leapt a few feet in the air. _Wait. You can hear me?_

 _ **How could I not? I'm a voice in your head.**_

 _So… you got a name?_

 _ **Yeah. No, duh. Jaune Arc. I'm you, moron!**_

 _Then, what do I call you?_

 _ **I don't care.**_

 _Well, aren't you fun…_

 _ **I'm not here for your approval. Don't you have another class soon?**_

 **** _What?_ Jaune looked at his scroll. _Crap! You're right!_

 _ **Get moving!**_

Jaune made it to class, Professor Port's class to be specific. However, he was the last person to enter the room, and it was apparently a demonstration day. Which means Jaune was now to fight a creature of Grimm in front of the class. _Great…_ Jaune readied his weapon and waited for the cage to open. When Professor Port opened the cage, a medium to large sized Beowolf jumped out and trained its eyes on Jaune.

The Grimm leapt forward and slashed at Jaune, who dodged at the last second. _This is insane!_

 _ **Then move over!**_

 **** _Wait, what?_ Suddenly, Jaune didn't feel his muscles anymore. He tried to move but couldn't. He tried to speak, but was silent. _What's going on?_

 _ **I'm taking charge. You can have your body when the fight's over.**_

 **** _Okay… I guess. But I want you to promise me you won't attack anyone else._

Jaune's body seemed to smile. " **Knight's honor**."


	3. Chapter 3

The battle in the classroom was rather straightforward. The voice destroyed the Grimm using Jaune's body and everyone just said it was the young knight getting stronger. After that, Jaune's week had gone by without too much incident. The voice in his head constantly talking to him was annoying, but he got used to it at this point. The voice was now just a freeloading being of Jaune's imagination and it was just another… _Hold on._

 ** _What?_**

 _What's your name, anyway?_

 _ **Name? By a normal society's idea of what a name is, I don't have one. By my own design, you can call me Ares.**_

 **** _Ares, huh? That'll work._

'Ares' was now just a separate little idea to Jaune. At least, when he wasn't trying to get Jaune to give him control or influence his decisions. Though, he has been learning some new tricks. Jaune nearly had a heart attack when he saw another version of himself in the mirror with Ares's voice talking to him.

 ** _Hello, Jaune. Miss me?_**

Jaune knew he couldn't speak out loud, as his team was just outside the door of the bathroom in his dorm. _What do you want?_

 **** ** _Getting philosophical are we? What I want is control. Power. Glory! I am a warrior!_**

Jaune thought a moment. This was clearly his opposite with talk of power or control. But he also knew that he wasn't too different… After all, Jaune wanted the glory of being a hero and the respect of people around him. _Okay… but we need a better way to tell each other apart if you're going to show up in the mirror._

Ares thought for a moment. He then took a deep breath and, with a slow exhale, his appearance changing just slightly. A tuft of his hair turned a blood red and his eyes became a gunmetal green. **_Better?_**

 _I guess…_

 **** ** _Good. Now, get your ass in gear! You have combat class today!_**

 _Oh crap!_ Jaune moved in a panic and quickly got ready and opened the door to return to his team, who were waiting patiently for him. "Okay. Let's get going."

Nora jumped and saluted, "Got it, oh leader! Let's go!" With that, she burst from the room like lightning, followed closely by Ren. Pyrrha and Jaune followed soon after. Because of their haste, they were able to make it too class with a minute to spare.

Jaune let out a sigh of relief and took a seat in the stands. As class began, his attention was grabbed by the door of the room opening to reveal Cardin Winchester, late for class, walking in. Jaune knew that Cardin was going to be forced to participate in the first match. He couldn't help but smirk, knowing Cardin's pride would lead him to demand a rematch with Pyrrha.

"Mr. Winchester…" Professor Goodwitch berated, "you are late. You will be in the ring today."

Cardin smiled. "Sounds fine to me…"

"…and _I_ will choose your opponent."

Jaune's smirk was replaced with a defeated sigh. _There goes that…_

"Mr. Arc."

 _She wouldn't…_

"Please enter the arena."

 ** _She did._**

Jaune reluctantly stood up and moved toward the locker room to adorn his armor and prepare for battle. He took a deep breath and looked in the mirror as he put on his armor, with Ares making another appearance.

 ** _Cardin Winchester… I could take control here. Put him in his place. No one would be the wiser…_**

 _No. I have to do this._

 **** ** _I can respect that._**

Jaune took another breath before walking out to face Cardin. As he faced the mace wielder, Jaune could feel that he would lose. He knew he was improving, if the comments from his friends were anything to go off of, but Cardin wasn't exactly lazing around all day. Cardin was stronger than him, larger than him, and more skilled than Jaune in combat. The young knight raised his shield, preparing for the attack to come.

And it did. Only thing Jaune didn't plan for was the power behind the attack. The attack sent Jaune flying into the wall and took a large chunk of aura with it. As Jaune stumbled to stand up again, Cardin just couldn't help but taunt the blonde.

"You know, Jauney-boy, I'd heard you've been getting in more training. Even got yourself someone willing to try to train you. Looks like they're just wasting their time."

Jaune stood and charged at Cardin, who promptly dodged and struck Jaune again, taking another chunk of aura.

"Guess they're the real dumbass if they thought they could train you."

 ** _Did he just insult Pyrrha?_**

 _Yeah…_

 _ **Step aside, Jaune.**_

 **** _What?_

Ares forced control of Jaune's body from the knight's consciousness. Looking from a sort of third person perspective, Jaune saw his own features change. A tuft of hair turned a blood red and his eyes became gunmetal green. " **You're going to regret saying that, Cardin.** " Ares spoke using Jaune's voice.

"Bring it! Jauney-boy!" Cardin soon actually did regret saying that. He found himself face-down on the ground with Jaune's foot on the back of his head.

" **What was that? I can't hear you!** "

Cardin forced Jaune off and swung his mace, striking the shield. Cardin wasn't sure what happened, but he knew Jaune couldn't beat him… right?

\/

In the stands, team RWBY and the remainder of team JNPR were watching on. Pyrrha was watching closer than all others in the room. She noticed the change in Jaune's appearance, combat efficiency, and even the tiniest change in his speech. As the match continued, Pyrrha noticed another change: his fighting style. It was subtly shifting. He wasn't fighting like himself anymore. Now, he fought using a style that was eerily similar to her own; just a bit more brutal.

She wasn't the only one to notice the similarities of their styles. Yang wrapped an arm over Pyrrha's shoulders and had a knowing smirk. "So… looks like your teaching went very well."

Pyrrha was a bit uncomfortable, but not too terribly with Yang's question. It was more about what she knew would follow when dealing with the blonde brawler. "It would seem."

"You two must be close to let him use your style like that. Maybe because it's just you two, all alone, while you train…"

Pyrrha coughed in surprise. "I-it's not like that!"

Yang sighed. "Too bad… you might want to grab him before someone else does."

\/

The battle was steadily moving in Jaune's favor. Within his mind, however, he could do nothing. He watched as Ares fought and pushed Cardin back. His body, still controlled by Ares, was moving with such power, efficiency, and determination. His body, moving at the behest of a voice in his mind, was beating Cardin. His body was beating Cardin. He was beating Cardin!

 ** _Feels good, doesn't it?_**

Jaune's consciousness returned its focus to Ares.

 ** _The power. The unyielding strength! Why not really feel the power for yourself?_**

Jaune knew he shouldn't. He mustn't. He wanted to be a huntsman, so he had to keep himself in check.

 ** _Don't you want to be just like your father?_**

Jaune froze.

 ** _Your father. He's a legend. Before that, a hero. And before that, he was a warrior! A warrior like his father, and his father before him! If you want to be a warrior, then take the sword!_**

 ****Jaune could feel his consciousness feel as though it was reaching for a blade. He recoiled. He couldn't take the blade.

 **** ** _Jaune… what is a sword?_**

Jaune was confused by the question.

 ** _A sword is a weapon. A weapon is used to kill. Even with the noblest of intensions, a weapon is used to fight! If you're willing to pick up a weapon, you must be willing to accept what it means to wield it. So fight!_**

Jaune found himself back in control of his body. The red streak in his hair had disappeared and his eyes were the normal blue again. He looked down at Cardin, who was sprawled across the floor. He looked over to the score board and saw both their aura's dangerously close to the red. The next hit could end it.

Cardin jumped back to his feet and glared toward Jaune. "What the dust happened to you? When did you get that strong?"

Jaune looked over toward Cardin. "I trained my ass off." Jaune looked upward. "But I never thought what that training was meant for. I just came to a realization. That's all."

Cardin was furious. "That's a load of crap! You're just a wimp! A loser! I'll crush you!" He raised his mace to strike the young knight.

Before he could lower the mace, however, Jaune delivered a standing kick to Cardin's chest and sent him back toward the ground.

Winner: Jaune Arc

\/

In Jaune's mind:

Ares looked on as Jaune claimed the win. He smiled. **_Excellent._**

\/

 **King: Here's... Jauney! We're back, baby! It feels good to be back.**


	4. Chapter 4

Jaune walked down the hallway beside his team. Nora was bouncy as ever. However, this time she decided to jump on Ren's back and make him carry her, which he did without saying a word. Pyrrha was walking next to Jaune with a smile on her face, likely stemming from the fact that Nora was forcing Ren to pick up the pace eventually leaving Pyrrha alone with Jaune. Not that he would notice… or did he?

 ** _Seriously…_**

Okay… 'Jaune' didn't seem to notice, but the voice in his head certainly did.

 ** _Jaune… The two of you are basically alone right now. Say something!_**

 _I can't!_

 **** ** _What do you mean you can't?!_**

 _Come on… it's Pyrrha. What am I supposed to say?_

 **** ** _I don't know! Something?!_**

 **** _Real helpful…_

 **** ** _Shut up!_**

 **** _Aren't you supposed to be my opposite? Shouldn't you know what to do here?_

 _ **I'm a construct of your aura that forces you to face a side of yourself you don't want to. That doesn't mean I have all the answers.**_

 **** _…_ _Wait. What?_

"Jaune?"

Jaune and Ares' conversation was halted when Pyrrha spoke up. She looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Uh… yeah. I'm okay."

"You sure? You seem… like you're not really here."

"Really, Pyrrha. I'm fine." Jaune was more than well aware Pyrrha didn't buy that. The two knew each other too well to believe otherwise.

"Really, Jaune. If something's wrong, you need to talk to us."

Nora seemed to appear from nowhere. "Is it Cardin?"

"What?"

"Should we break his legs?!"

"No! Nora. It's okay. Nothing's wrong."

Pyrrha looked over toward her partner. It wasn't Cardin, but something was bothering him. Something had been for a while now. She would catch him staring into the mirror every now and then. And the match with Cardin… _What was that?_

Jaune turned toward Pyrrha. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Pyrrha instantly snapped out of her thoughts. "Of course."

"Can we meet up tomorrow?"

Pyrrha's heartrate skyrocketed. "Like… for training?"

"No… I need to talk to you about something."

"Uh… okay. Do you want to meet on the usual roof?"

"No. I think it would be best to meet in Vale. I-if you don't mind."

"That sounds fine."

It was only a moment later that the implications of this rendezvous entered Pyrrha's mind and she blushed until her face matched her hair. _Could it be… a date?!_ With that thought in her head, Pyrrha went to bed as quickly as she could to calm herself down.

\/

Pyrrha looked around. She found herself in a large white-walled room. There were a number of columns that seemed to be made of solid gold. The tapestries were embroidered with white and gold trim. It was regal and somewhat intimidating; but, at the same time, she felt… safe and welcome. It seemed familiar. But she knew that she had never been to this kind of place before.

"Hello." Pyrrha spun around to find Jaune. "Is something wrong?"

"Jaune? Where are we?"

Jaune laughed. "I find it hard that you would forget this place."

"What?" Pyrrha jumped at the feeling of Jaune taking her hand.

Jaune just smiled.

Pyrrha knew for a fact she hadn't been here. But Jaune said she had. He acted like they had been here together. _Together…_ Pyrrha blushed at the thought that they were together. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but was never able. Now here he was acting as though they were already together. It was here that Pyrrha came to a sad realization.

"This is a dream."

After saying that, the Jaune at her side disappeared, leaving her alone. Her heart sank. She wanted it to have been real.

"Pity. But I admire your skills of perception."

Pyrrha turned around to face the voice. She found herself staring into a pair of gunmetal green eyes mere inches from her own. She jumped back and reached for her weapons, which were nowhere to be found. As she adopted a fighting stance, she took a good look at her opponent. She nearly had a heart attack. _Jaune?! No. He's different._ "Who are you?"

 _Jaune_ smiled. "Did you forget, Pyrrha? I'm Jaune."

"No! You're not!" She took another look at him. He looked very much like Jaune, save for a tuft of red in his hair and his green eyes. "Who are you?!"

The man before her started to laugh. "So quick to disbelieve… Fine. You can call me Ares, if you so choose."

"Why were you calling yourself Jaune?"

Ares smiled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Pyrrha was fed up with this imposter. She spoke through her teeth. "Try me."

"You know… you're quite cute when you're trying to be threatening."

Pyrrha stopped. It felt like Jaune, himself, had called her cute. But she knew it wasn't him. So why did it feel like he was, even if only for a moment. "Shut up!"

"What's wrong, Pyrrha?"

"I said shut up!" she stretched out her hand and activated her semblance. She wanted to send him flying away from her. However, he remained standing. "W-what?"

"Sorry Pyrrha. My armor isn't made of metal. It is solid aura." With that, he smiled again. "As am I."

"W-what? That's impossible!"

"There's a lot of things that seem impossible, Pyrrha, and yet they do exist."

Pyrrha couldn't relax. This… _Ares_ seemed to know her. _Who is he? Is he really made of aura? Why call himself Jaune?_ But one question needed to be answered first. "Where is this place?"

Ares smiled. "All I can say is that you're always here, but not like this."

In a flash of light, Ares disappeared and the room began to glow. Pyrrha shielded her eyes but was forced to close them from the brightness. When Pyrrha opened her eyes again, she was back in the dorm room with her team.

\/

The next day, Jaune waited at the docks staring at the bullhead. _Tortuous machine of evil!_

 ** _It's mechanized malevolence!_**

 _Wait… We agree on this?_

 **** ** _I'm a voice in your head. I still inhabit your body. I have motion sickness as a result._**

 _Well… that's something we have in common at least._

"Jaune?"

Jaune turned to see Pyrrha walking up. She wasn't in her armor or her uniform. She was wearing a red hoodie with black capris pants. She had a pair of heeled boots and her usual tiara-like headpiece. Jaune was stunned to see her like this. Even more so considering the outfit accented her… assets extremely well. Jaune found speech became a difficult process.

"Jaune? Are you okay?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah. I'm good. Shall we?"

\/

"That thing is a death trap…" Jaune was hunched over a trashcan. He was able to survive the bullhead, but not without side effects. "Sorry, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha was rubbing his back to ease the residual motion sickness. "It's fine Jaune."

After Jaune was able to collect himself, the two started to walk through the town. They would get distracted from time to time along the way, mostly Jaune. Jaune would occasionally stop to look for various items including, but not limited to: the latest X-ray and Vav comic, some shield polish, a new whetstone to sharpen Crocea Mors, and one quick stop to get his hands on a gift for one of his sister's upcoming birthday. To be fair, Pyrrha also had to stop every so often. Her list included shield polish, a book on combat, and some dust ammunition.

The trip was genuinely enjoyable and the two were basically in a permanent state of smiling. With the distractions out of the way, they sat down on a park bench with a cone of ice cream each. Pyrrha was enjoying herself, but something was stuck in the back of her mind. She remembered that dream, but should she tell Jaune?

If Pyrrha could read minds, she'd find a similar predicament in Jaune's mind.

 _I'm not sure how to put this…_

 **** ** _Perhaps just being direct?_**

 _You don't know what I'm talking about, so you?_

 **** ** _I'm well aware of what you're up to. You want to tell her about the voice in your head and ended up on a mini-date._**

 _It wasn't a date!_

 **** ** _Sure… keep telling yourself that, Jaune. See how long it takes before this all breaks down with that attitude._**

 ****Jaune knew he was right. At this rate, he wasn't going to get anywhere with Pyrrha. _Wait. That wasn't why I asked her here._

 **** ** _Maybe not consciously…_**

 _You think I asked her out by accident?_

 **** ** _Not 'by accident,' subconsciously. Deep in your mind, this is what you wanted._**

 _Yeah… I guess that makes sense._

 **** ** _Then make the move. She's been waiting for you this whole time._**

 **** _She has?_

 **** ** _I know you're not that stupid, Jaune._**

 **** _…_ _Yeah. I know. But, what if I'm not good enough?_

 _ **Jaune… That's not a problem. Just try.**_

 ****Jaune took a deep breath and got ready for what was to come. "Hey, Pyrrha…"

"Yes, Jaune?"

"Remember how I said I wanted to talk to you about something?"

Pyrrha paused a moment before answering. "Yes."

"It's just… Ever since the dance, something's been on my mind."

Pyrrha looked toward Jaune in silence. Almost as if she was expecting something.

"When you said _I_ was the kind of guy you'd want to be at the dance with, did you mean someone _like_ me… or did you mean you wanted to be there with me?"

A shiver ran up Pyrrha's spine. It was happening?! She hung her head to avoid eye contact. "I g-guess… I m-meant that I'd rather have been there with you."

Jaune sighed in relief. "Sorry…"

Pyrrha looked over in confusion. "What for?"

Jaune placed his free hand on top of hers on the bench. "For not seeing it sooner."

Pyrrha blushed at this. "D-does this mean we're together?"

"If it's okay with you."

"Yes! I-I mean, yes. I'd like that."

The two shared a moment of joy. They exchanged caring smiles and looks. They had their first romantic moment as a couple. Then… something had to ruin it.

 ** _Oh! Just kiss already!_**

The two jumped hearing this. Pyrrha looked around to see who had interrupted them. Jaune had a look of frustration, but when he noticed Pyrrha looking around it changed to confusion.

"Wait. You heard that?"

Pyrrha looked toward Jaune. "What do mean?"

Ares had a realization about the moment. **_Well… that's interesting._**

/\

 **King: Oh! What does it mean?! What could it be?! I'll save that for later. Anyway... this is the first of the Valentine Specials series for my ongoing series. Look forward to the others in my stories as we approach the holiday and a special one-shot on Valentine's itself. Hope you enjoy them.**


	5. Chapter 5

**King: Hello guys and girls. I hope you enjoyed the Valentine's special. That said, I already have the continuation of the story. And I won't let you see it! Muahahahaha! *deep breath* I joke. It's right here. Have fun.**

 **/\**

Jaune watched as Pyrrha stood up and looked around for the voice. _What just happened?_

 **** ** _It seems she heard me._**

This time, however, she didn't react.

 ** _Though it seems now she can't._**

 _Then how did she before?_

 **** ** _I'm just guessing… but I think it might be through direct contact._**

 _That still doesn't explain how she could hear you at all. Aren't you a voice in my head?_

 **** ** _Oh… wow. You really don't pay attention, do you?_**

 _What?_

 _ **I'm a construct of your 'aura'! That means you can hear me because it's your aura.**_

 _Then why could Pyrrha?_

 _ **Not too sure… but it might have something to do with her unlocking your aura.**_

 _That… makes sense… I guess…_

 **** ** _Unless you can come up with a better answer, it's the best we got._**

Pyrrha seemed to have given up on the search. "That was weird."

"Yeah…"

Pyrrha took a deep breath. "Let's hope that's the last interruption."

A gunshot rang out a moment later. The crowds turned to find a group of White Fang. There were four. One was a very large man without a weapon, unless one counted the arms that looked like they could crush concrete. Two were carrying short swords, both seemed weaker than their companions. The last one looked like the leader, he was somewhere between the larger man and two smaller faunas in size and was carrying the gun. "Everyone, on the ground! NOW!"

 ** _She had to say something…_**

 _Not the time!_

The people, including Jaune and Pyrrha, dropped to the ground so as not to incur their anger.

Jaune looked over to Pyrrha and whispered, "Can you use your semblance to take away their weapons?"

Pyrrha attempted to discretely move her hand toward them and take away the weapons… with no effect. "No. Their swords must be ceramic and the gun isn't metal."

Jaune silently cursed. "That's not good."

"There must be a way to disarm them."

"That's not the problem now Pyrrha."

"What do you mean?"

The White Fang leader placed his gun over his shoulder. "Alright, human scum. I have good news and bad news. The good news is, you're not hostages." The crowd seemed to calm at hearing this. "You're all going to become a message. This is where the bad news pops in for you. But, if you ask me, it's just more good news. You're all going to die here."

This sent the crowd into a panic. Jaune cursed under his breath. "We have to figure something out."

One of the faunas with a sword walked over toward them. "Hey captain. You're going to love this."

The leader walked over and looked at them. "Well now… Pyrrha Nikos. It's our lucky day. The four time Mistral champion gets to die by our hand. Excellent."

"Stay away from her!" Jaune tried to get up before he was kicked back down.

"Aww… how cute. Your little boyfriend thinks he's tough. Tell you what, I'll spare you the pain of watching him die." He pointed his gun toward Pyrrha's head.

"No!" Jaune leapt up and tried to punch the Faunas. He was tackled and now held down by the largest Faunas.

"Too bad, Nikos. Looks like your boyfriend wants to die first." He pointed his gun toward Jaune, who was still pinned down. "So long kid…"

To Jaune… the world seemed to slow down.

\/

 _Am I going to die…?_

 **** ** _Are you?_**

 _What do you mean?_

 **** ** _Jaune… you can get out of this._**

 _I don't see how._

 _ **Stop holding back.**_

 _What?_

 _ **Jaune. Stop… holding… back.**_

 _I… don't understand._

 _ **You're going to have to fight back.**_

 **** _Why can't you?_

 **** ** _Are you serious?_**

 **** _What?_

 **** ** _Jaune… I'm not real!_**

 **** _What?!_

 **** ** _I'm a voice in your head! A construct of your aura! You didn't find it odd that I introduced myself using your name? That I know how you act and live? That I can use your body? I even told you what I was outright a moment ago. Ares doesn't exist! I'm what you don't want to face about yourself! You're not supposed to have to have heard me until you were around 20 years old! All this crap with the White Fang made you hear your voice early! You know all this, but chose to keep it in the back of your mind to think it would settle itself. It almost worked. I mellowed out. I calmed. But guess what, I'm back to my old self. And you need to get yourself together!_**

 _You… I… can't…_

 _ **Jaune! You can't hold back anymore! Whether you like it or not, if you don't fight back at full power, you will die! This isn't one of Beacon's sparring matches anymore. THIS IS WAR! It's killed or be killed!**_

 **** _I can't kill them!_

 **** ** _Then you want to die?!_**

 _No! I just…_

 **** ** _Then do you know what will happen? They'll kill Pyrrha! They'll kill the innocent civilians! Is that what you want?!_**

 **** _No! But I can't kill them!_

 **** ** _Jaune! This isn't time for your morals! I'll say it again… THIS IS WAR! Now… use your semblance, and FIGHT BACK!_**

 _I don't know what my semblance is!_

 _ **Yes you do! You saw it for a moment in Forever Fall with Cardin! Now, focus!**_

 _I just can't!_

 **** ** _You're an Arc! A warrior! A huntsman! It's your job to protect the innocent by any means necessary! Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't realize the last part was optional! Get your ass in gear and fight! Or, perhaps, you want to let them all die?!_**

 ****Somewhere in all this, Jaune snapped.

\/

Back to reality:

"So long kid." The White Fang captain fired his gun right at Jaune. However, it was the large Faunas holding him down that flew backward. The large man now had a large hole in his shoulder about the size of a golf ball. "What the hell?!"

Jaune stood up. His hoodie and jeans had turned a bright white and his eyes seemed blank. The two with the swords charged forward and brought their blades down on Jaune's shoulders. He made no attempt to move and the blades stopped dead on impact. Jaune grabbed the blades and used the smaller stature of the two to use the blades against them; using the sword of one to stab the other. Jaune then turned toward the leader.

The captain took a step back. "What the hell are you?!"

Jaune's voice made him sound as though he wasn't really there… "Kill or be killed…" Jaune started to walk toward him.

The Faunas was panicking. "Stay back!" He fired his gun toward Jaune but it had no effect. He fired again and it still failed. "What the hell are you?!"

"Kill or be killed… Kill or be killed… Kill or be killed…"

Jaune picked up speed and tackled the captain. His hands wrapped around the Faunas' throat and started to strangle him. The captain fought back, but passed out soon enough. Jaune didn't let go. In fact, he squeezed a bit harder.

"Jaune!" Jaune looked over toward the voice to find Pyrrha. "You can stop. It's over."

Jaune's eyes seemed to clear up, his clothing returned to normal, and he looked around. He took in what he had done. Three out of four of the attackers were bleeding. The largest faunas with the bullet wound and one of the swordsmen, who had said sword lodged in his lower leg, were writhing. The other sword wielder, with the blade having entered his upper leg, wasn't moving. The leader's throat had his hand prints on it. Jaune stood up and started to walk. After a few feet, he collapsed to his knees.

\/

 _This can't be real… I can't have done that…_

 **** ** _Jaune…_**

 _Ares…_

 _ **Jaune, I told you, Ares isn't real.**_

 **** _Then… this isn't real, right? I couldn't have done that. This is just an illusion. A nightmare! This isn't real! This can't be real! I couldn't have killed them! Tell me this isn't real!_

 **** ** _Jaune… this is war. You've done what was necessary._**

 _I didn't do anything! I couldn't have! This isn't real! Like you!_

 **** ** _Jaune! You did those things. You can't change that. This is war. This is the sad reality of the world. Rest now, Jaune. This is only the beginning._**

/\

 **King: Yep... it got real.**


	6. Chapter 6

Jaune remained kneeling on the ground. He looked around at what he had done. But this time, he noticed something he didn't the first time. There was no blood. The two that were the most likely to be alive were not moving and gave no indication of ever being alive. _W-what?_

The 'White Fang' seemed to fall apart and reveal that they were actually training robots. The 'park' became a large metal room. Suddenly, everything from these past days came back to Jaune. These days… they weren't how he saw them.

 ** _Finally noticed…?_**

Jaune took a deep breath. _Yeah._ Jaune got to his feet and walked away from the room. As he left, he looked down the hallway. It was a metal hall with tapestries decorating the path with his family symbol emblazoned in white and gold. He walked through the hallway and passed an assortment of individuals, each with his family seal on their clothing. Jaune made his way to a door and entered the room.

The room was simple. Simple bed. Simple desk. Simple… everything. The only things that made it obvious that this was Jaune's room was a selection of posters, a tapestry with his crest on it, and a shield hanging on the wall. This wasn't a shield from his family, evidenced by the lack of his family's seal. It was round with sections out to allow for a defensive attack style. It was the shield of Pyrrha Nikos.

Jaune looked into his reflection on the shield. Jaune sighed and clenched his fists. _Why?_

 ** _Jaune. You know that everything these passed days was false, right?_**

 **** _I know it wasn't what I saw… I think, it was my way to cope._

 **** ** _You're still broken up about her?_**

 _She died, Ares! I tried to stop her, but I couldn't! She pushed me into a locker and sent me away so she fight that chick with the fire powers! She died because I couldn't stop her!_

 **** ** _You know that's not true, Jaune._**

 _Yes, it is! If I was a bit stronger, a bit smarter… If I knew what was going to happen… I could have stopped her._

 _ **Jaune… It's Pyrrha. Do you really think you could have stopped her?**_

Jaune knew he couldn't have stopped her, but he couldn't help but think that he would have if he knew she was going to die as a result. Jaune turned away from the shield.

Ares appeared in the reflection of the shield. **_You can't just look away from this, Jaune._**

Jaune's gaze returned to his former partner's shield. _I know… but, what else can I do?_

 **** ** _What would want you to do?_**

Jaune's thoughts were silent a moment. _She would want me to keep moving forward. To never give up, no matter what happened._

 **** ** _So, what will you do now?_**

 _I'll keep moving, but there's… something else._

 _ **And that would be?**_

 _Despite everything… even though they killed Pyrrha… I don't want to kill them._

 **** ** _Why not? Don't you want justice?_**

 _Pyrrha wouldn't have wanted me to kill them. My family might be made of warriors, but that doesn't mean I have to kill anyone. They did everything in their power not to, when possible. Why would I do any less?_

 **** ** _So… you'll continue getting stronger, but you won't ensure that the people who kill others to further their goals without a second thought get what's coming to them?!_**

 _Don't get me wrong… I want justice. What I don't want is revenge._

 **** ** _You've… accepted Pyrrha's death pretty quickly._**

 _No I haven't. I didn't let go, I haven't let go, and I probably will never let go… but that's why I have to keep moving. Pyrrha wouldn't like it if she found out that I gave up because of what happened to her…_

 ** _…_** ** _Well, Jaune… This is where I would say 'congratulations,' but I suppose that isn't really an appropriate word right now._**

 _What do you mean?_

 **** ** _Jaune, do you remember what your father told you about me?_**

 _About the voice in my head?_ Jaune thought back a moment to the conversation with his father, which wasn't over a scroll it turns out. _You're my emotional opposite. That I need to make peace with you before you can leave._

 **** ** _Well, Jaune, you've made your peace with me._**

 _How?_

 **** ** _As your emotional opposite, I wanted nothing more than for war and death to rain down on the people that did that to Pyrrha, to Yang, to… everyone! But… you didn't want that. Your mind was… tumultuous at the best of times. You didn't want to rain death, but you couldn't just do nothing. Well, now you have your answer._**

 **** _Then… what happens now?_

 **** ** _I disappear. My purpose is complete and you'll become stronger as a result. Before I go, there's something I want to tell you._**

 _I know what it is. The Pyrrha I imagined… and why she could hear you._

 _ **Yeah. You see, when she released your aura, she left a little bit of her own aura behind. She's been with you ever since.**_

Jaune thought back to that day. _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee._

 **** ** _Yeah… I suppose it was appropriate. She's still protecting you as a part of your aura, if you look at it right… Although, at least now you know that she'll always be in your heart._** Ares' hair had become completely red and his eyes became a bright, emerald green. **_You should get going. Ruby, Ren, and Nora will be waiting for you._** He began to disintegrate into light and Jaune's reflection was his own again. **_Goodbye, Jaune._**

\/

With that, Jaune left his home and made his way forward. He couldn't stop, not after everything that happened. He wanted to thank Pyrrha and Ares for helping him come so far. But he was met only with silent voices.

/\

 **King: Well, readers, I'd say it's been fun, but it's not that kind of story. How things have changed... My plan was to have this make it to at least 10-15 chapters and show how Jaune improved through interactions with Ares and how Pyrrha would take the news. It was supposed to end with Jaune coming to terms with Ares and then we would see a glimpse into the future. We would see Jaune's son asking his father about a similar situation. Then, everything changed after season 3 came to an end. After that... this couldn't end any other way. I just want to give out some "thank you"-s. Thanks to the readers who put up with my sporadic release style. Thanks to the reviewers. Thanks to Rooster Teeth for creating the series. I hope you all enjoyed the story. Until next time...**


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